IFA 2012: Panasonic aims to be smarter and greener in 2012

Panasonic kicked-off IFA 2012, Europe's biggest tech show, by promising to be "the world's no.1 green innovation company" and reiterating its focus on Smart Viera products and the connected home.

With the tag line of 'smart living is now a reality', Panasonic talked of being an 'innovator' in the consumer electronics business as it showed off the latest version of its Viera Remote app, which allows wireless transfer of files between cameras, phones, tablets and TVs.

The new app also lets you 'swipe and share' video content between TVs and tablets, as Panasonic looked to play on its Smart Viera range of products launched earlier this year at CES.

Panasonic expects 54% of the 150m TVs sold in 2015 to be Smart TV and is looking to position itself and its Viera Remote app as the leading Smart TV tools.

There was a new Panasonic PT-AT6000E projector launched to coincide with the press conference but otherwise new products were thin on the ground.

Panasonic looked to big-up its position as an innovator by once again highlighting its 145in 8k Super-Hi Vision screen, its 103in glassless 3D TV (below) and 20in 4k screens (above), though all of these products have been revealed before.

Despite a tough economic climated for the Japanese giant, the company announced it was "back in the black" and claimed to be no.3 for flatscreen TVs above 37in in Europe.

Panasonic's green credentials came in the shape of its role in helping build Skolkovo, an "innovation city" in Russia, and by claiming it would have 17 TV models with an A+ eco rating by 2014, the most of any TV manufacturer.

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Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is Content Director for T3 and What Hi-Fi?, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for more than 15 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).